1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to circular knitted garments. More particularly, the present invention is related to seamless shaped bands for such circular knitted garments.
2. Description of Related Art
Circular knitting processes such as those described in commonly owned and assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,781 to Myers have found wide use in the production of seamless tubular garment blanks. Circular knitting processes can be carried out by commercially available equipment, such as a SANTONI SM8 knitting machine. Seamless tubular garment blanks of this nature can be used in the production of a variety of clothing items, such as pantyhose, stocking, brassiere, blouse, leotard, swimsuit, underwear, and other apparel items.
More particularly, seamless tubular garment blanks have been widely used in the production of garments where seams and other garment discontinuities can be physically and/or aesthetically unpleasing. For example, seams in a brassiere can chaff, exert pressure points and, thus, be a source of physical discomfort. In addition, seams in a brassiere and/or an undergarment can often be visible through an outer layer of clothing, which can be aesthetically unpleasing.
Many seamless tubular garment blanks are provided with a band or welt (hereinafter “band”) at one or more edges of the tubular blank. A band is typically a doubled over edge used for ornamentation, reinforcement, supporting the garment on the wearer, or any combination of the foregoing. For example, the band can have elastic properties for supporting the garment on the wearer.
In conventional circular-knitting processes, the bands have been formed at a common height about the circumference of the tubular blank. Here, the band was seamlessly knitted as part of the garment in which the band is a double layer of fabric, where the layers are knitted to one another. The seamlessly knitted band can be more comfortable to the wearer and/or can be more aesthetically pleasing than cut-and-sew garments. However, the constant height bands provided these garments with a distinctive appearance. Namely, finished garments made from prior tubular blanks have a “constant height” or “unshaped” appearance.
The appearance of such prior art tubular blank garments can be contrasted with the appearance of prior art cut-and-sew garments. Cut-and-sew garments are typically made from a plurality of panels, which have been cut to a desired shape and then sewn to one another to form the finished garment. In cut-and-sew garments, the band can be incorporated into the garment in a shaped manner. For example, the band can cut to a desired shape (e.g., varying heights along the circumference of the finished garment) before being incorporated into the finished garment. Alternately, the band can have a constant height along the circumference of the finished garment, but can be sewn into the garment such that other portions of the garment overlap sections of the band when viewed from the exterior of the garment. Both of the aforementioned methods provide cut-and-sew garments with a shaped band, which can be more comfortable to the wearer and/or can be more aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately, the shaped bands of cut-and-sew garments include seams at the interface of the band and the garment, which can reduce the comfort and appearance of the finished garment.
Thus and until now, garments made from tubular blanks had one appearance (e.g., seamless unshaped bands), while cut-and-sew garments have a second, different appearance (e.g., seamed shaped bands). Accordingly, there is a continuing need for garments made from tubular blanks, which can provide the advantages and/or appearances of the shaped bands available in traditional cut-and-sew garments. Moreover, there is a continuing desire to provide garments having a seamless shaped band.